Classes - Part 1

Hello from Grootfontein! We had an excellent day at the San village complete with digging and pushing big blue out of the sand pits on the way home!  

After packing up Big Blue and crossing into Botswana, History class began to shift gears as we had a whole new country to explore. As we traveled through Botswana the ladies took note of similarities and differences noticed between our time in Zambia and what we were finding in Botswana.  We then searched through each country's history to find historical examples that contribute to the realities of life on the ground in southern Africa.  The class has taken advantage of the plethora of primary sources available in our travels.  They are honing their interviewing skills and learning to view each encounter as a rich source of knowledge.  Students interviewed the staff at our campgrounds and our Okavango Delta mokoro guides. The insightful questions ranged from asking about the interaction between diamond mining and tourism to how government is addressing HIV in the country. 

These questions lead to a major class theme: historic and contemporary governance in southern Africa. The students have analyzed the various political systems that have played a role in shaping southern Africa from colonial governments to both single and multi-party democracies, to military governments.  After reflecting on political capacity and the ability of governments to meet the needs of their constituents the girls wrote their own "recipes" for a successful government.   They then put their knowledge to the test in a simulation activity that required them to represent various and conflicting viewpoints.  With diverse backgrounds and interests, students were charged with the task of creating a constitution for a newly independent nation.  Through inner party conflict, opposing ideals and, ultimately, compromise students navigated challenges which many newly independent nations face.  

We also delved into a case study of the government and economic policies of one of Botswana's most infamous neighbors....Zimbabwe.  Through the course of our travels we are lucky  to share the journey with several wonderful Zimbabwean guides, including our cook, driver (TK and Simokangwe) and river guides, who shared have their stories.  In class we explored both Zimbabwe's pre colonial and colonial roots, though we have focused most intently on the recent economic crisis and controversies around land redistribution.  These threads will continue into our Global Studies Unit on human rights, where the girls will act as UN member countries to decide whether or not to place economic sanctions on Zimbabwe. 

Yet again we've crossed another border into Namibia where history class will wrestle with the legacies of apartheid and genocide that haunt this nation's history.

 

 

PE at TTS continues to take full advantage of the unique places we find ourselves.  While staying in Livingstone, the group ventured out to local soccer fields to play some high intensity frisbee and soccer.  Gym class then took a more mellow turn, yoga and circuit workouts, during our time in Elephant Sands due to our large bodied neighbors, elephants. Unmistakably the favorite recent gym class has been our afternoon swim gym in Botswana.  After a swimming warm up, some water aerobics and pool games the girls created a dynamic syncronized swimming routine! 

Our coursework in I-LIFE has taken on more complex dimensions as the dynamic of our life here has developed. In addition to workshops on academic and duffle/truck/ locker organization, students took part in a seminar on effective goal-setting.  Mentor groups broke out to hammer out details of semester-long and short term goal development.  Mentors are tracking the progress of these objectives throughout the semester.  We continue to grapple with weekly budget check-ins: wrapping our minds around ATM fees, foreign currency exchange, and planning for the next week. As requested by the students, we presented a class on conflict resolution, outlining strategies for dealing with the complicated relationships developed as a result of being with each other 24/7.  We explained "feedback loops," an exercise intended to help with conflict and build confidence, and tried them out in our mentor groups. In small groups of four students and a facilitation teacher, students shared two positive contributions and one point of growth for each member of the group. Students were nervous to complete the exercise, but in the end, felt gratified for the information that was shared. The activity helps promote healthy communication and address challenges proactively before conflict arises.  As we approach midterm examinations, we will discuss strategies for dealing with stress, and introduce the platform for student leadership in the second quarter!

The Drabbles are out!  Students in LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION spent hours writing, re-creating, editing, and counting their  100-word (exactly) compositions.  Topics ranged from the stars, to Barack Obama, to a Livingstone market stall -- and each piece included the intentional use of a literary device.

We participated in a creative writing workshop as an introduction to descriptive writing (which is encouraged in all assignments).  Everyone tied blindfold bandanas over their eyes, and I handed each person an unfamiliar object. As students touched and smelled their object, we discussed the relevance of using sensory detail to carve out descriptive prose.  Next, with a loud crack, they broke into the objects, spilling tropically scented goo and seeds out on to their hands.  When allowed to uncover their eyes, they found delicious passion fruits.  After a summary of descriptions of the fruit, we used this activity as an opportunity to learn about different types of literary devices.  Examples of simile, synechdoche, and hyperbation filled colorful shared pages as students experimented with different types of written expression.

Throughout the Drabble writing process, we were also busy with a unit on short stories.  After an introductory conversation about the value of storytelling, we summarized the traits of a short story.  In this unit, students engaged with three stories from the region: "Age of Iron" by J.M. Coetzee, "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses," by Bessie Head, and "Crackling Day" by Peter Abrahams.  In each one, we followed up on if and how the stories fit in with the realm of short story fiction.  We also used these texts to consider what kind of questions literature allows us to ask.  Basic, textual-based questions give us purchase on the author's intentions and background, character development, and scene building, among other elements.  Yet even in short stories, the plots and people described bring to mind other, larger questions that point us to a greater understanding of world context and philosophical ideas.  For example, the prisoners in Head's story steal from the prison: we ask, how do the prisoners justify their actions?  On a greater level, we can question, when is stealing justified and why?  What is a moral absolute?

 

 

Since we've crossed the border into Namibia, it is a felicitous time to begin reading Peter Orner's novel, The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo.  This beautiful piece of fiction provides an expert example of descriptive writing in the form of concise vignettes that take place at a school in rural Namibia.  Students are enjoying piecing together the sinuous plot, complex characters. and clues of Namibia's history as they tackle their first book.  Soon, we will start writing our own vignettes a la Orner, with hopes of capturing our experience here at TTS26.

 

 

 

 

GLOBAL STUDIES

Indigeneity is complicated: throughout our journey in Botswana, we explored the challenge of defining indigenous peoples.  Utilizing background information about native people in the US, students worked out the characteristics of indigeneity.  Next, we introduced the idea of a "root cause tree," which helps contextualize issues we observe.  Using the widespread prevalence of street trash as an example, we brainstormed the causes (and causes of the causes!) of the problem -- the roots of the tree.  The clear next step is to postulate the leaves of the tree, and examine what the possible results of the issue might look like.  We practiced this framework with examples of indigenous issues in this region, like land dispossesion, lack of representation, and discrimination. This assignment helped to reinforce the importance of studying a systemically disempowered group.  Botswana recognizes all of its citizens as indigenous, thus creating a disillusioned paradigm for understanding the place of people who call themselves indigenous.  How do we view indigenous people?

Our case study for these themes is the Kalahari San (or "bushmen," as they are pejoratively called).  In mock news casts, students presented recent events regarding the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and court cases fought by San activists to reclaim access to ancestral lands.  Discussion about the CKGR brought up questions regarding local mining companies, safari lodges, and human rights.  Utilizing our framework for critical thinking skills, students analyzed an excerpt from "The Harmless People," by Elizabeth Marshall.  The culmination of this case study occurred in a visit to a San Living Museum.  Upon arrival, we were ushered into the bush, where we participated in building fires, traditional crafts, and bow hunting.  After the Living Museum, our group also toured the modern version of a San village and interacted with local kids at the borehole.  The post-experiential debrief incited fruitful questions about authenticity, defining poverty, and sustainable development: all themes that we will continue to explore throughout this course.  Next up, we will dive into a unit about human rights and the role of the UN!